1.4 Quality teaching in the middle years
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Description
This wss continuing activity from 2008. It linked to and expanded on the Department of Education, Science and Training funded Literacy in the Middle Years Initiative. The focus for this middle years activity was support for teachers to engage in professional learning to achieve quality pedagogy and improve student engagement and learning across the middle years of schooling (Years 5/9).
Clusters of schools across the ten regions identifed a curriculum focus from civics and citizenship, literacy, numeracy, PDHPE, science and technology. In addition there was provision for school clusters to be funded to expand on previous Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme professional learning for the middle years.
Through action learning processes, school projects teams explored the NSW Department of Education and Training model of pedagogy for application across the middle years, engage in change management processes to build the links across schools and undertake common project evaluation procedures. School clusters could choose to work with an academic partner, regional consultancy teams and school education directors.
The activity was managed by a designated project officer who took responsibility for the activity meeting the professional needs of participating teachers.
Contacts
| Kevin Bradburn email: Kevin.Bradburn@det.nsw.edu.au Ph 02 9246 8680 Fax 02 9244 5849 Sector: DET |
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Outcomes
Through participation in this project, teachers will have strengthened the currency and depth of their pedagogical knowledge and skills.
Through participation in this project, teachers will have strengthened the currency and depth of their learning area knowledge and understandings.
Access
Targeted NSW Department of Education and Training schools.
Design
Action learning teams were established to address individual professional development needs and school needs through an inquiry process involving planning, acting, evaluating, observing, reflecting, recording, sharing and celebrating. Collegiality is essential to the effective operation of these action learning processes.
Action learning was used by all project schools to reflect on current teaching, share existing expertise within and across schools, and improve teaching practice. Data/information was collected and analysed throughout the project to monitor changes in school culture, and in teacher and student learning.
To stimulate their growth in professional learning teachers engaged with the following frameworks, experimenting with new ideas and taking planned risks:
* Australian Government Quality Teacher Programme framework of professional learning principles
* seven organisers of middle years action in NSW
* action learning/research framework as the change model
* Quality teaching framework, influencing pedagogy, pedagogical content knowledge and assessment, and establishing consistency in the quality of pedagogy across the middle years of schooling
* curriculum planning framework, including BOS syllabuses and Department of Education and Training middle years strategies, providing continuity of student learning experiences and outcomes across the middle years of schooling
* project evaluation framework, including evaluation criteria and data collection, analysis and reporting procedures.
Implementation
The implementation of the activity will be supported by the following personnel: designated project officers, academics partners, sector and regional consultants, school based professional learning team.
Delivery
Workplace learning, action learning project workshops.
Timeline
By June 2009:
* school clusters identified
* planning workshops conducted with clusters of schools
* progress report submitted in June.
By December 2009:
* project officer visits to schools to support action learning processes
* action learning team visits across schools
* action learning teams analysis of student data to inform next cycle of professional learning
* annual report submitted in November.
Sectors
